Chapter 110 : Hope's Blade (3)

Next to the female was a tall and brawny man, with dark eyes and short, dark-grey hair. A beard and large, bulbous nose finished his appearance, his traditional Iwa jonin ware matching that of the teen next to him.

With further inspection, Mei narrowed her eyes. She knew this man… he was the Tsuchikage's son-in-law, Kitsuchi, a former GOLEM. The man's appearance did not bode well with the Mizukage.

All of her examining only took five seconds, her Kage-level intelligence at work. Clearing her throat, Mei began what would most likely end in heated words. Hopefully, no one would get hurt.

...

"Hello, ambassador-san, I am Terumi Mei, Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure no Sato." She introduced herself formally. "What has brought Iwagakure no Sato to my village?"

The shinobi behind the ambassador glared at Anko with barely contained rage. They hadn't expected to see a Konoha-nin.

"My name is Kyoya, and as you already know, I am an ambassador for Iwagakure." Kyoya began. "My business is with Kiri, though, and not for the ears of a Konoha kunoichi." He said with a calm tone. While there was no venom in the man's voice, there was plenty hate in his stare.

"If possible, I'd like for her to leave for the duration of our conversation." He smiled at Mei, his deceptive facial features trying to make her see him as nothing but a decent person.

"Mitarashi Anko stays, Kyoya-san. Now hurry up and get to why it is you're here." Mei commanded.

While each of their countries signed the armistice drawn up by Konoha during the conclusion of the last war, the entire world knew where Tsuchi no Kuni stood, and Kiri was not willing to risk the precious alliance that Uzumaki Naruto had singlehandedly created.

War was such an easy thing to start, and simple treaties that were nothing but simple ink on paper meant little to nothing.

"Yes… well then, I'll be blunt." Kyoya began, scrunching his face at Anko. "The Tsuchikage has called upon the aid of Kirigakure and all villages flying her flag under the pretext of bipartisanship." Mei and Anko narrowed their eyes as the man continued.

"We're at open war with Hi no Kuni, and while we won't ask you to participate in anything on an official level, we will suspect a partisan partner to help fund what is inevitable to come."

Anko's eyes were narrowed the entire time as the two jonin behind Kyoya watched her with near blood-thirsty eyes. She didn't like it at all.

"A benefactor…" Mei finally spoke. "You suspect me to agree to fund a war you started against an allied nation of Mizu no Kuni?" She gave them a look that questioned their worth as living beings.

"Surely you can see how that makes no sense. We may have abolished the Yondaime's capitalist regime, but we certainly have not begun the practice of altruism." There was no gain for Mei or Kiri, and it made her nervous how Kyoya still smiled at her.

"We are not asking for your assistance out of the goodness of your hearts, Mizukage-dono, we believe the terms our favorable indeed." Reaching into his kimono, he presented Mei with a scroll that was sealed by the Earth Daimyo himself.

Breaking the seal, she glanced over it, before handing it to Ao to examine more thoroughly.

"And if we refuse?" Mei asked. "If Kirigakure wants nothing to do with this war, what then? Will your Tsuchikage respect our decision even if it's not the one he's hoping for?"

Kyoya smiled. Standing, causing Ao and Anko to tense in preparation to defend Mei if the man tried any funny business, he easily handed the Godaime Mizukage what the Sandaime Tsuchikage had ordered him to do if she was uncooperative.

Mei took the second scroll the man had given her with a raised eyebrow. With ease, she broke the seal – this time belonging to the Tsuchikage – and began to read. With each word she read from the scroll, her eyes widened, and she couldn't help the glare and copious amounts of killing intent she sent towards the Iwa shinobi.

"How dare you." She whispered deadly, her tone so low that it actually sent a chill down Anko's back. While the snake user was a powerful jonin, Mei was a Kage, and it showed as she stared at the vermin in front of them.

"It's simple, Mizukage-dono." Kyoya began in a nastily silky smooth voice. "Do the right thing." The smile on his face said he felt he was untouchable, daring someone to start the shit storm that would follow if he was at all harmed.

A tense silence fell over the room. All shinobi present itched to kill the other, and for a moment, it seemed almost a possibility worth exercising.

And then, the sounds form outside the office filled the stiff air, causing everyone to look towards the door.

With a raised eyebrow, the Iwa kunoichi turned and opened the door and left, leaving to examine what the entire ruckus was. With a near unnoticeable nod of her head, Ao left the room, following close behind the black-haired woman.

Clearing her throat, Mei began, only a fraction of her previous anger apparent.

"I don't know what you thought you'd prove by coming into my village and demanding anything from me, but I do not, under any circumstance, take kindly to threats." She spoke in her calmest, silkiest voice.

Her expression and tone were almost "too sweet", and slightly unnerving. Mei was considered powerful, even by Kage standards. She had faced and fought Yagura – who was a Jinchuuriki – to a stalemate during the civil war that wrecked Mizu. No one challenged or doubted her power and skill.

"Mizukage-dono, I don't think you're in any position to decline." Kyoya spoke with a voice that repulsed both Anko and Mei.

"You have no option but to comply, unless, of course, you care nothing for the balance of power the Shodai Hokage created amongst us? In which case, Kiri may not support our war efforts, but we will definitely gain an asset."

With a repulsive glance, Kyoya had the gall to smirk at her. "And once Konoha falls to our might," his eyes flickered to Anko before falling back onto Mei, "Kiri just might gain an enemy…"

Mei clenched her teeth, grinding them in frustration. With narrowed eyes, she began began. "I'd tread carefully, Kyoya-san. You are speaking to a Kage." The auburn-haired woman warned.

"Ah, yes," Kyoya started, "a position given to you by Uzumaki Naruto." The bastard retorted. His methodical expression mixed with the excitement he was receiving for playing word games with the Mizukage morphed into something truly hideous.

"The fact that Naruto was the one to end the war might spark doubt within your people, Mizukage-dono." He quipped. "And we should all know by now," his tone became deep and serious, "it only takes a single spark to start a war."

"I highly advise you change your tone." A voice no one was familiar with spoke out, both surprising and confusing those who were still within the office.

With slow trepidation, everyone turned to look at the window, which – somehow – was now open, and two figures stood next to one another.

"Y-You're…" Anko spoke with shock and, if she were honest, terror.

"If you don't, sempai will murder you."

...

"You've returned alone." Uchiha Itachi spoke, his voice calm. "Where are the others?" he asked.

Gaara slowly entered the kitchen his new subordinate sat in, bowing his head slightly to the man and woman his shishou called brother and sister.

"Someone seems to have taken Sasuke's lover." The red-haired shinobi explained.

"They've gone to get her back." He stated before sitting down at the table which was full of various snacks and beverages.

"I see…" Itachi whispered. Outwardly, the Uchiha prodigy expressed absolutely nothing, his face the epitome of perfected stoicism. On the inside, however, he was a bit… surprised.

Sasuke… his precious younger brother… already had a lover? Itachi wasn't sure how he felt about that.

A comfortable silence fell over the room. Yugao-san and Hayate-san stood next to the stove, whispering about what they were going to do next weekend. Apparently, they both had the day off.

Pushing that unimportant piece of information gathered via eavesdropping out of his mind, Itachi turned to Gaara to converse about something, but blinked in slight surprise.

The previous Suna-nin was fast asleep; his head lay peacefully on his folded arms. In the second that it took Itachi to blink again, he already understood.

Naruto-sempai had told him about the sleep deprivation the Ichibi Jinchuuriki suffered for the majority of his life. He'd probably take advantage of any situation he could to doze off if he was Gaara, too.

Deciding to turn his attention elsewhere, Itachi stood and walked to the counter. He could better talk to the two people who were actually awake.

"Yugao-san," Itachi began, "I was wondering if you could answer a question for me?" Itachi asked politely.

While he never really knew Hayate all that well, he had served with Yugao for a few years, and he knew just how close the woman was with Naruto. He hoped that meant she knew the answer to his question.

"I'm not sure, but I can give it a try for my returned kohai." Yugao slightly teased, smiling at the younger ninja who was listed in the bingo books as an S-ranked criminal wanted for the highest degree of treason and murder anyone could commit. Ever.

Itachi brushed her attempts to rile him up away like a fly. "Sasuke's lover," Itachi started. "Who is she?" He asked. His voice was serious and made Hayate a bit uneasy.

Yugao's playful smile vanished, and she stared at the Uchiha she knew as Karasu with curious eyes. Seconds passed by, and then minutes, before finally, Yugao started. "Haruno Sakura…" she admitted.

"Her name is Haruno Sakura. She's a kunoichi who was in his class at the academy and in his team when they graduated."

Instantly, Itachi's eyes softened, if only barely, but it was enough for Yugao's ANBU trained eyes to catch. "Ah…" the Uchiha began, "then it is okay." He spoke, more so to himself than anyone else.

He would not allow a relationship with his brother – his only family left – that was based on preserving the Uchiha clan. He knew exactly who the Haruno were, and that they had a little girl who was in the same class as Sasuke.

As an ANBU operative, Itachi had access to every citizen within Konoha's file, and had used that clearance to thoroughly research each and every one of Sasuke's classmates, as well as their immediate family. He may have been a tad over protective. Maybe…

But nonetheless, he knew who Sakura was, and he knew she couldn't have been a pawn of the council to help replenish the numbers of the Uchiha clan.

He wanted his brother to find love, true love, and even though he was rather young, Itachi was glad that he had, apparently, found that love.

A random thought popped into Itachi's head at that moment, and he found himself asking his question before he realized it.

"Does Naruto-sempai have anyone significant in his life?" he asked. He remembered how close the blond ANBU captain had gotten to the now Mizukage, and that had been when the kid was seven. He was almost hesitant to discover what he was up to now, five years later.

"Ah… yeah… well…" Yugao tried. "About that…"

...

Uchiha Itachi stood at the window of the Mizukage's office, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan staring at the Iwa-born shinobi within the room.

His eyes were crimson, with three black, spiraling curves around a pupil, with a small four-pointed pinwheel sitting atop. Dressed in a long, white cloak with red flicking at the bottom, the visage of Uchiha Itachi stared at Kyoya with a contemptuous glare, completely ignoring Kitsuchi altogether.

"U-Uchiha… Itachi…" Anko replied breathlessly. What the hell was one of Konoha's worst criminals doing here?

That's when Anko noticed the person who stood beside Itachi. He was older, and definitely looked more mature, but Anko was sure that the man standing next to Itachi was in fact Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes had a black background, with three crimson intersecting ellipses, with three black, straight lines in the center. It looked like a starburst pattern all together, and his stare looked confident – of course – but also… relaxed.

"It's been a while, Anko." Sasuke said without even facing her. His tone honestly surprised Anko greatly. He was no longer that little gaki who wanted to take on the world for his single self-appointed goal.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kyoya spoke, a bit outraged. Kitsuchi was already standing in front of the ambassador with a protective stance, his brow sweating slightly. Itachi was just as feared in Tsuchi no Kuni as he was in Hi no Kuni – or anywhere, for that matter. He was rather confident in his abilities, but Kitsuchi wasn't willing to test his theory on the traitor.

"Stop talking." Sasuke ordered with a powerful voice. "Or stop existing." He added, causing Kyoya to gulp slightly.

Without preamble, the door to the Mizukage's office opened once again, and everyone saw the kunoichi who had previously been in the room, enter slowly, and backwards. She had an expression of both fury and terror on her face, and it caused Kitsuchi to frown.

His daughter had never made that face before…

"I hope we're not interrupting anything." A calm, powerful, and oh so familiar voice spoke. While it was incredibly deeper, and belonged to someone who was now much, much taller than he had any right to be, it was still familiar. It was him… it was Uzumaki Naruto.

"N… Naruto…?" Mei whispered breathlessly.

"It's been a while, Mizukage-sama."

...

They stood atop a hill overlooking Kirigakure no Sato, gazing at the certifiable army that marched on the island village. Iwa was invading, and no one knew it.

Gilded eyes stared at the assembled enemies with eyes that could not be determined. Before, when he was younger, he would have snarled, glaring at the army that would dare touch what belonged to his woman.

He would have rushed in with reckless abandon because he simply could. He would have laid them all to waste with a flashy show of his power, ruthlessly crushing them without preamble.

But he wasn't a child anymore. It had been nearly four years since he left his home, and he changed more than any could ever imagine. Now, his eyes looked at the amassed shinobi from Iwagakure no Sato with pity, and a touch of sorrow.

They were living, breathing beings that shared the planet they lived on, and now they rushed towards their death. In his gold eyes, he saw his fellow man walk to their graves, and that saddened him…

Even if he would be the one to put them there…

"We are Hope's Blade…" Uzumaki Naruto spoke. "Let us cut away the misery." With those words said, he and his Uchiha warriors vanished, heading towards the village. The others could handle Iwa's forces for now.

He had something he couldn't wait to do.